Winding apparatus

ABSTRACT

Winding apparatus characterized by maintaining a desired pressure relationship between drive and package rolls for consistency in the winding operation. The apparatus comprises a driven drive roll rotatably mounted on a stationary housing in a fixed position, a freely rotatable linearly movable package roll driven by the drive roll and receiving material for winding thereon, carriage means having stationary and movable portions in which the movable portion carries the package roll for reciprocating linear movement, and means for maintaining a predetermined desired pressure relationship between the drive roll and the package roll and for linearly driving the package roll. The last-named means comprises a variable torque reversible motor, a screw shaft driven by the motor and a nut means secured to the movable carriage portion and receiving the screw shaft therethrough for converting rotary movement of the shaft into linear movement of the package roll. The torque motor can drive the package roll linearly toward and away from the drive roll for start-up and doffing and can hold a package roll in frictional peripheral driving engagement with the drive roll and maintain a predetermined pressure relationship.

United States Patent Taylor et al.

[451 Oct. 10, 1972 [54] WINDING APPARATUS [72] Inventors: Larry B. Taylor; William D. Porter;

William J. Anderson, all of Asheville, N.C.; Ralph Cancer, Taylors,

[73] Assignee: Northrop Carolina, lnc., Asheville,

[22] Filed: Oct. 6, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 78,542

[52] US. Cl ..242/18 DD, 242/18 A, 242/35.5 R [51] Int. Cl. ..B65h 54/42 [58] Field of Search.....242/l8 DD, 18 A, 35.5 R, 65,

Primary Examiner-Stanley N. Gilreath Att0rney-Parrott, Bell, Seltzer, Park & Gibson ABSTRACT Winding apparatus characterized by maintaining a desired pressure relationship between drive and package rolls for consistency in the winding operation. The apparatus comprises a driven drive roll rotatably mounted on a stationary housing in a fixed position, a freely rotatable linearly movable package roll driven by the drive roll and receiving material for winding thereon, carriage means having stationary and movable portions in which the movable portion carries the package roll for reciprocating linear movement, and means for maintaining a predetermined desired pressure relationship between the drive roll and the package roll and for linearly driving the package roll. The last-named means comprises a variable torque reversible motor, a screw shaft driven by the motor and a nut means secured to the movable carriage portion and receiving the screw shaft therethrough for converting rotary movement of the shaft into linear movement of the package roll. The torque motor can drive the package roll linearly toward and away from the drive roll for start-up and doffing and can hold a package roll in frictional peripheral driving engagement with the drive roll and maintain a predetermined pressure relationship.

. V 1.1 pF'i' Fiflms THREAD Souace PKTENTED I973 3.6 97 O07 sum 1 or 6 THREAD- [REAW RUN DOFF iil THREAD SOURCE LOWER CHUCK IO fly-Z LAQQX H. TAYLOR and W\L L.\A\\ D. QOETEQI mazlazglwwgum ATTORNEY INVENTORS:

PATENTED B 1 I912 3.697.007

SHEEI 2 [IF 6 INVENTORS LARRY H. TAYLOQ,

ATTORNEYS PATENTEDom 10 I972 3.697.007

sum 3 or 6 INVENTORS LAEQY H. TAYLOR and WKLLJAM D. Pomte,

ATTORNEYS P'ATENIEMBI 10 I912 3.697.007

SHEET 5 [IF 6 53 W A A LAQQY HTAYLOQ and \XALUAM D. oQn-EQ;

ATTORNEYS WINDING APPARATUS This invention relates to a winding apparatus which is characterized by maintaining a desired pressure relationship between drive and package rolls for consistency in the winding operation.

Various winding machines have heretofore been proposed for the winding of various materials including textile threads or yarns, web material, wire, etc. A preferred type of these winding machines includes a package roll for receiving the material to be wound and which frictionally engages a drive roll for rotation of the package roll during the winding operation. In this type of winding machine, the drive roll and package roll must move linearly away from each other during the buildup of a wound package on the package roll and it is desirable to maintain a predetermined pressure relationship between the drive and package rolls during this linear movement of the rolls.

Many types of mechanisms have been previously proposed for attempting to maintain the predetermined pressure relationship desired between the drive and package rolls during the winding operation including pneumatic and hydraulic systems, weight systems, belt and pulley systems, spring systems, etc. However, all of these previously proposed systems have been somewhat unsatisfactory from either an operational or design standpoint inasmuch as they did not satisfactorily operate to maintain the predetermined pressure relationship and/or they involved complex and expensive designs.

Accordingly, it is the object of this invention to provide a winding apparatus of the character described above which overcomes the disadvantages in the prior apparatus and satisfactorily maintains a desired pressure relationship between drive and package rolls for consistency in the winding operation.

By this invention, it has been found that the above object may be accomplished by providing winding apparatus having the following basic components. A drive roll is mounted for rotation on a stationary housing in a fixed position and extends outwardly therefrom and includes drive means for rotating same. A freely rotatable, linearly movable package roll extends outwardly from the housing generally parallel with the drive roll to receive material for winding thereon. A carriage is provided which includes a stationary portion mounted on the housing and a movable portion carried by the stationary portion for reciprocating linear movement. The movable carriage portion is secured to and carries the package roll for reciprocating linear movement therewith. There is further provided means for maintaining a predetermined pressure relationship between the drive roll and the package roll and for linearly driving the package roll. This means comprises a variable torque reversible motor, a screw shaft connected to and rotated by the reversible torque motor and a nut secured to the movable carriage portion and receiving the screw shaft therethrough for converting rotary movement of the screw shaft into linear movement of the movable carriage portion and the package roll carried thereby.

By the above arrangement, the variable torque reversible motor can drive the package roll linearly toward and away from the drive roll for starting up and dofiing by driving the movable carriage portion in the desired direction. The torque motor means can also hold the package roll in frictional peripheral driving engagement with the drive roll and maintain a predetermined pressure relationship between the rolls for winding by driving the movable carriage portion and the package roll in a direction toward the drive roll so that the linear movement of the package roll away from the drive roll during buildup of a wound material package will overcome the driving force of the torque motor and back drive the stalled torque motor.

A preferred form of this invention includes a pair of linearly movable package rolls disposed on one side of the drive roll and linearly movable toward and away from the drive roll along inclined paths of travel which form upwardly extending and downwardly extending acute angles, respectively, with a horizontal plane through the drive roll so that each of the package rolls may be alternately or simultaneously driven by the drive roll for simultaneous or alternative winding of material on both of the package rolls. It has also been found desirable with this arrangement to utilize means for compensating for forces introduced as a result of the inclined linear paths of travel of the package rolls so that the predetermined pressure relationship can be maintained.

The preferred form of screw shaft and nut comprises a ball screw and ball nut in which the screw includes spiral ball receiving grooves and the nut includes an enclosed housing containing a plurality of balls therein for engagement with the spiral grooves of the shaft. The preferred housing for the winding apparatus is a substantially enclosed hollow housing containing the car riages, the package roll drive and pressure maintaining means and the drive roll drive means. The portions of the housing through which the drive roll and the package rolls extend includes sealing means for completely enclosing the housing so that the inside of the housing and the components therein are closed off from a hostile environment which may surround the winding apparatus.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objects will appear as the description proceeds, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the winding apparatus of this invention showing a single thread being wound on one package roll thereof;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged front elevational view of the control panel of the winding apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a slightly enlarged vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional detail of the top of the upper carriage assembly of the winding apparatus and taken generally at the arrow 4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional detail of the bottom of the carriage assembly of FIG. 4 and taken generally at the arrow 5 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken through the carriage assembly of FIGS. 4 and 5 and taken generally along the line 6-6 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a sectional detail showing the ball screw and ball nut mechanism and taken generally along the line 7-7 of FIG. 6; and

FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic chart illustrating the operation and operational sequences of the winding apparatus of this invention.

Referring now to the drawings, a specific form of winding apparatus according to this invention is illustrated therein and generally referred to by the reference numeral 10. The thread winder illustrated in the drawings is adapted to wind thread T received from a thread source into would packages P, as illustrated in FIG. 1.

The winding apparatus 10 comprises a stationary, enclosed housing 12 of generally modular constructionso that the winding apparatus 10 may be positioned individually or in banks or groups of such winders in a textile operation.

A generally cylindrical drive roll 14 is mounted for rotation on the housing 12 in a fixed position and extends generally horizontally outwardly therefrom, as may be seen in FIG. 1. The drive roll 14 may be constructed of a suitable smooth metal material or otherwise and is driven by a motor 15 mounted within the housing 12 on one wall of the housing by means of mounting plates 16, as shown in FIG. 3. The motor 15 includes an outwardly extending shaft 17 which carries a suitable pulley 18 for receiving an endless belt 19. The endless belt 19 also passes around a pulley 20 car ried by a rotatable shaft 21 which is suitably mounted in a fixed rotatable position in the housing 12 and extends outwardly therefrom and is connected with the drive roll 14 so that the motor 15 may rotate the drive roll 14 in the direction of the arrows in FIG. 1 through the above-described belt and pulley arrangement. The portion of the housing 12 through which the shaft 21 passes for connection with the drive roll 14 is suitably sealed, for the reasons to be discussed below.

The winding apparatus 10 further includes a traverse mechanism 25 mounted on the housing 12 and extending outwardly therefrom generally parallel with the drive roll 14 and on one side thereof, as shown in FIG. 1, for receiving the thread T from a thread source and for reciprocating back and forth along a path of travel which is generally parallel with the longitudinal axis of the drive roll 14 for traversing the thread T onto the package P being wound by the apparatus 10. This traverse mechanism 25 includes a motor 26 suitably mounted within the housing 12 and having a drive shaft 27 extending therefrom and operatively connected with the traverse mechanism 25 for operating same. The shaft 27 and traverse mechanism 25 also include suitable means for sealing the portion of the housing 12 through which the shaft 27 passes, for reasons to be discussed below. The detailed construction of the traverse mechanism 25 has not been illustrated in the drawings and inasmuch as these traverse mechanisms are conventional and well understood by those with ordinary skill in the art, further explanation herein is not necessary.

The winding apparatus 10 of this invention, as illustrated in the drawings, further includes a pair of freely rotatable, linearly movable package rolls 30 for carrying thread package cores C to form a wound package thereon. The package rolls 30 extend generally horizontally outwardly from the housing 12 and are generally parallel with the drive roll 14 on the other side thereof from the traverse mechanism 25 to be driven by the drive roll 14, in a manner described below. The package rolls 30 receive thread T from the traverse mechanism 25 for simultaneous or alternative winding on package cores C on both or one of the package rolls 30.

The package rolls 30 are disposed above and below each other, as shown in FIG. 1, and are linearly movable away from the drive roll 14 along inclined paths of travel which form upwardly extending and downwardly extending acute angles, respectively, with a horizontal plane through the drive roll 14, as shown in FIG. 1, so that each of the package rolls 30 may be alternately or simultaneously moved into frictional, peripheral, driving engagement with the drive roll 14 for simultaneously or alternatively winding thread T on both of the package rolls 30.

The package rolls 30 are generally of the expandable, self-contained, chuck member type which, as shown in FIG. 6, include bladder members 31 adapted to inflate and expand by the insertion of air from air line 32 on receiving of the package cores C and air brake means 33 for precluding rotation of the package rolls 30 before, after and during an initial or final winding operation by the insertion of air into the brake means 33 from air line 34. The specific details of the construction of these package rolls 30, per se, are given in U. S. Pat. No. 3,517,891, issued June 30, 1970 and assigned to the assignee of the present application. Reference may be had to that patent for a complete disclosure of the operation of these package rolls.

Associated with each of the package rolls 30 is a carriage assembly, generally designated by the reference numeral 40. These carriage assemblies are contained within the enclosed housing 12 and the carriage assembly for each of the package rolls 30 is substantially identically constructed, as may be seen in FIG. 3. FIGS. 4 and 5 are generally top plan views of the upper carriage assembly 40 of FIG. 3 and that carriage assembly will be described in detail below. Each carriage assembly will be given, where illustrated, like reference numerals inasmuch as like components are contained in each.

Each of the carriage assemblies 40 includes a stationary portion 42 which is generally rectangular and includes downwardly extending flange portions 42a around the outer periphery thereof and top plates 42b, as may be seen in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5. It is noted that the bottom carriage assembly 40, as shown in FIG. 3, is reversed and the flange members 42a extend upwardly and the plate members 42b are bottom plates. The stationary carriage portion 42 is mounted in a fixed position on the housing 12 by means of bolts 43, as shown in FIG. 4 and 5 particularly. The stationary carriage portion 42 includes longitudinally extending carriage rods 44 mounted in flange members 42a.

The carriage assemblies 40 further include movable portions 46 mounted on the stationary portion 42 and particularly the rods 44 thereof by any suitable bearings for reciprocating linear movement along the longitudinal axes of the stationary rods 44. The movable portion 46 of the carriage assembly 40 is secured to and carries the respective package rolls 30 for linear movement therewith, as may be seen in FIGS. 4 and 5. The package rolls 30 include suitable bearings for rotation thereof with respect to the movable carriage portions 46. The carriage assemblies 40 are generally disposed in the inclined paths of travel which the package rolls travel. Accordingly, the carriage assemblies 40 carry the package rolls 30 along their upwardly and downwardly inclined paths of travel toward and away from the drive roll 14.

The winding apparatus further includes mechanisms contained within the housing 12 and operatively associated with each of the package rolls 30 for maintaining a desired predetermined pressure relationship between the drive roll 14 and the respective package rolls 30 and for linearly driving the respective package rolls 30.

Each of the mechanisms comprises a reversible, variable torque motor 50 mounted within the housing 12 on one wall thereof, as shown in FIG. 3. The torque motor 50 has an outwardly extending driven shaft 51 which is connected to one end of a universal joint 52 and the other end of the universal joint 52 is connected to and drives a ball screw shaft 53 having spiral, ball receiving grooves 54 therein. The ball screw shaft 53 is suitably rotatably mounted in bearings 55 and 56 carried by the stationary carriage portion 42, as may be seen in FIG. 5. Accordingly, rotation of the torque motor 50 causes rotation of the ball screw shaft 53 through the bearings 55 and 56.

The movable carriage portion 46 has a ball nut 60 secured thereto, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 7. The ball nut 60 comprises a housing 61 containing a plurality of balls therein arranged in such a manner that the ball screw shaft 53 passes through the ball nut 60 and the balls 62 engage the grooves 54 so that rotary movement of the screw shaft will be converted into linear movement of the ball nut 60 and thereby cause linear movement of the movable carriage portion 46 and the respective package rolls 30 carried thereby. Accordingly, rotation of the torque motor 50 in opposite directions will cause opposite linear movement of the package rolls 30 toward and away from the drive roll 14 through the above-described connections.

Each of the mechanisms for driving the respective package rolls and for maintaining a predetermined pressure relationship includes a bi-directional damper apparatus 65 operatively connected with the ball screw shaft 53 and each comprising generally a torque brake 66 which may be of any suitable form and including an outwardly extending shaft 67 carrying a pulley 68. The pulley 68 carries a belt 69 which also passes around a pulley 70 mounted on the ball screw shaft 53. The bidirectional dampers 65 prohibit excessive acceleration of the movable carriage portions 46 and the respective package rolls 30 when being driven from one extreme linear position to the other. The dampers 65 also minimize any tendency toward vibration of the package rolls during the winding operation.

There is further provided a hydraulic shock absorber 75, as shown particularly in FIG. 5, for each of the carriage assemblies 40. These hydraulic shock absorbers 75 each comprises a cylinder 76 secured to a flange portion 42a of the fixed or stationary carriage portion 42 and a piston 77 extending from the other end thereof. The piston 77 includes an extending rod 78 which is fixed to the movable carriage portion 46. The cylinder 76 includes an adjustment knob 79. These shock absorbers 75, by the above arrangement, control the rate of contact between the drive roll 14 and the package rolls 30. There are also provided bumper type shock absorbers 82 secured to the fixed carriage portions 42, as shown in FIG. 5, and adapted to be contacted by an extension of the movable carriage portions 46 for buffing the travel of the package rolls 30 and the movable carriage portions 46 as they reach the end of their paths of travel away from the drive roll 14.

Due to the geometry of the upwardly extending and downwardly extending inclined paths of travel of the package rolls 30, which form acute angles with respect to the horizontal, forces are introduced which must be cancelled if proper package roll to drive roll predetermined pressure is maintained throughout the winding operation. Accordingly, compensating mechanisms 84 and 85 are provided for the upper package roll and carriage assembly and the lower package roll and carriage assembly, respectively. The upper package roll compensating mechanism 84, as best shown in FIG. 4, comprises a cased roller spring 86 carried by the stationary carriage portion 42 and having a cable 87 extending therefrom and attached to a counterbalance cam 88 also mounted on the stationary carriage portion 42. The counterbalance cam 88 includes another cable 89 extending therefrom and around guide pulleys 90 and 91 carried by stationary carriage portion 42. The other end of the cable 89 is secured to the movable carriage portion 46, as shown in FIG. 5.

The counterbalance cam profile 88 is determined by combining forces due to package weight increase, forces due to gravity, forces due to the change in tangent point between package and drive rolls as the wound package diameter increases, and forces due to the drive roll to package roll pressure reduction that is necessary.

The compensating mechanism 85 for the downwardly moving lower package roll and carriage assembly 40, as best shown in FIG. 3, comprises a constant force extension spring 95 having one end thereof secured to the housing 12 and the other end thereof attached to a cable 96 which passes around a guide pulley 97 mounted on the-housing l2 and is attached at its other end to the movable carriage portion 46 of the lower carriage assembly 40.

As shown in FIG. 1, the winding apparatus housing 12 has slots therein for the linear travel of the upper and lower package rolls 30 which include sealing means for sealing off the interior of the housing 12 from the exterior thereof. Each of these sealing means for each of the package rolls comprises a belt l00, as shown particularly in FIGS. 5 and 6, which passes around rollers 101 and 102 at each end of the slots in the housing and has its ends attached to a cable 103 which passes around pulleys 104 (only one of which is shown in FIG. 6) to form an endless arrangement. The belt is attached to and surrounds the connecting portion between the package roll 30 and the movable Carriage portion 46 to move therewith as these mechanisms move in their linear path of travel. Suitable rubber seals may be mounted on the housing 12 for rubbing engagement with the belt 100 to complete the seal. Thus, the entire housing 12 is enclosed and sealed from a hostile environment that may surround the exterior of the winding apparatus 10 so as to protect the interior components of the housing 12.

Additionally, there is provided a solenoid operated latch mechanism for the lower carriage assembly 40, as shown in FIG. 3, comprising a solenoid S, a latch member 111 pivotally mounted on the stationary carriage portion 42 and connected to solenoid S to be controlled thereby, and a latch member 112 mounted in fixed position on the movable carriage portion 46. The

latch mechanism 110 is adapted to latch the carriage portions 42 and 46 together at the position illustrated in FIG. 3 for dofting of a wound package P.

By the above arrangement of the winding apparatus 10, the respective variable torque, reversible motors 50 can drive the package rolls 30 linearly toward and away from the drive roll 14 for start-up and doffing of packages P by driving the movable carriage portions 46 in the desired direction through the ball screw shaft 53 and ball nut 60 and can hold the package rolls 30 and the thread cores C thereon in frictional, peripheral, driving engagement with the drive roll 14 and maintain predetermined pressure relationships between the rolls for thread winding by driving the movable carriage portions 46 and the package rolls 30 in a direction toward the drive roll 14 so that the linear movement of the package rolls 30 away from the drive roll 14 during buildup of a thread package P will overcome the driving forces of the torque motors 50 and cause the torque motors to stall. Since the torque motors 50 are variable torque motors, the amount of torque applied thereby can be varied as desired to obtain the desired predetermined pressure relationship between drive roll and package rolls.

Specifically, the winding apparatus 10 may be provided with any suitable control circuit and, while the details of such a control circuit will not be given herein or specifically described, an exemplary operation of a suitable control circuit is illustrated in FIG. 8 and will be briefly described.

The winding apparatus 10 may include a control panel, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, having buttons thereon for initiating the operation thereof. The control circuit includes suitable switches adapted to be operated by the movable carriage portion 46 of the carriage mechanism 40 and these switches are indicated in FIG. and given the reference characters A, B and C.

Referring particularly to FIGS. 2 and 8, when both package rolls 30 are in the retracted or doff position which is the linear position at the extreme end of the path of travel away from the drive roll 14, an operator will press the START button on the control panel and adjust the speeds of the drive roll 14 and the traverse mechanism 25 from any suitable adjustments to the drive motors thereof. Empty package cores C are then placed on the package rolls 30.

The operator then depresses the READY button for one or both of the package rolls. This energizes the latch solenoid S for the lower carriage assembly 40 to disengage the latch mechanism 110 and initiates operation of the torque motors 50 to move the package rolls 30 from the doff positions toward the drive roll 14. Also, air pressure from the package roll brake means 33 will be removed to allow rotation of the package rolls 30 and air pressure will be applied to the bladder members 31 for expanding the same and holding the cores C in fixed positions on the package rolls 30.

As the package rolls 30 reach the half-way point of their path of travel toward the drive roll 14, switch C will be actuated by the movable carriage portion 46 to reduce the voltage on the upper torque motor only to slow down the travel of the downwardly moving upper package roll 30. When the package rolls 30 reach the drive roll 14, they will frictionally engage the drive roll 14 and accelerate to the desired winding speed.

The operator then depresses the THREAD RUN" button, as shown in FIG. 2, for the desired package roll 30 upon which a winding operation is to be performed. Operation of this button will switch the voltage to the torque motor 50 to that preselected for the winding operation and will de-energize the latch solenoid S to allow the latch member 1 1 l to drop back down into its lower position for again engaging the latch member 112 when the lower carriage portion 46 has again reached the doff position.

The wound package of thread then begins building on the cores C on the package rolls 30 which moves the package rolls 30 against the predetermined torque exerted by the motors 50 to stall the torque motors and maintain the predetermined pressure relationships therebetween. The voltage applied to the torque motors 50 may be varied during this winding operation to produce a variable torque, as desired.

As the packages P build on the package rolls 30 and the package rolls 30 reach the half-way point of their travel away from the drive roll 14, the switch C will again be engaged and reset.

After the package P has been completely formed and dofiing is desired, the operator depresses the DOFF button, as shown in FIG. 2, for the desired package roll and the torque motor voltage reverses polarity and drives the desired package roll 30 away from engagement with the drive roll 14 toward the doff position at the extreme end of its path of travel. When the package rolls 30 reach the doff position, switches A and B are actuated which remove power from the torque motors 50 and allow the lower carriage to latch into position by the latch mechanism 1 10.

With the package rolls 30 in the doff position, suitable timers are initiated following which the air pressure to the package roll brake mechanism 33 will be supplied to brake the package rolls 30 and cause the same to stop rotating and air pressure will be removed from the bladders 31 to allow the wound packages P to be removed from the package rolls 30. The above operation may then be repeated for one or both of the package rolls 30.

Thus, it may be seen that this invention has provided a winding apparatus which will satisfactorily and easily maintain a desired predetermined pressure relationship between drive and package rolls for consistency in the winding operations thereof. In the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention and, although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

What is claimed is:

1. A winding apparatus characterized by maintaining a desired pressure relationship between drive and package rolls for consistency in the winding operation; said apparatus comprising:

stationary housing means;

drive roll means mounted for rotation on said housing means in a fixed position and extending outwardly therefrom and including drive means for rotating same;

freely rotatable, linearly movable package roll means extending outwardly from said housing means generally parallel with said drive roll means to receive material for winding thereon;

carriage means including a stationary portion mounted on said housing means and a movable portion carried by said stationary portion for reciprocating linear movement, said movable carriage portion being secured to and carrying said package roll means for reciprocating linear movement therewith; and

means for maintaining a desired predetermined pressure relationship between said drive roll means and said package roll means and for linearly driving said package roll means, said means comprising a variable torque reversible motor means, a screw shaft means connected to and rotated by said torque motor means and a nut means secured to said movable carriage portion and receiving said screw shaft means therethrough for converting rotary movement of said screw shaft means into linear movement of said movable carriage portion and package roll means carried thereby;

whereby said variable torque reversible motor means can drive said package roll means linearly toward and away from said drive roll means for start-up and doffing by driving said movable carriage portion in the desired direction and can hold said package roll means in frictional peripheral driving engagement with said drive roll means and maintain a predetermined pressure relationship between said roll means for winding by driving said movable carriage portion and said package roll means in a direction toward said drive roll means so that the linear movement of said package roll means away from said drive roll during build-up of a wound material package will overcome the driving force of said torque motor and cause said torque motor to be back driven,

2. A winding apparatus, as set forth in claim 1, in which said housing means is a substantially enclosed hollow housing, in which said carriage means and said package roll drive and pressure maintaining means and said drive roll drive means are contained within said enclosed housing, and in which the portions of said housing through which said drive roll means and said package roll means extend include sealing means for completely enclosing said housing; whereby the inside of said housing and the components therein are closed off from a hostile environment which may surround said winding apparatus.

3. A winding apparatus, as set forth in claim 1, in which said screw shaft means comprises a ball screw shaft having ball receiving spiral grooves therein and said nut means comprises a ball nut including an enclosed housing containing a plurality of balls therein for engagement with said spiral grooves of said shaft.

4. A winding apparatus characterized by maintaining a desired pressure relationship between drive and package rolls for consistency in the winding operation; said apparatus comprising:

stationary housing means;

drive roll means mounted for rotation on said housing means in a fixed position and extending outwardly therefrom and including drive means for rotating same;

a pair of freely rotatable, linearly movable package roll means extending outwardly from said housing generally parallel with said drive roll means to receive material for simultaneous or alternative winding thereon;

carriage means operatively associated with each of said package roll means, each of said carriage means including a stationary portion mounted on said housing means and a movable portion carried by said stationary portion for reciprocating linear movement, said movable carriage portion being secured to and carrying said respective package roll means for reciprocating linear movement therewith; and

means operatively associated with each of said package roll means for maintaining a desired predetermined pressure relationship between said drive roll means and said respective package roll means and for linearly driving said respective package roll means, each of said means comprising a variable torque reversible motor means, a screw shaft means connected to and rotated by said torque motor means and a nut means secured to said respective movable carriage portion and receiving said screw shaft means therethrough for converting rotary movement of said screw shaft means into linear movement of said movable carriage portion and respective package roll means carried thereby; whereby said respective variable torque reversible motor means can drive said respective package roll means linearly toward and away from said drive roll means for start-up and doffing by driving said movable carriage portion in the desired direction and can hold said package roll means in frictional peripheral driving engagement with said drive roll means and maintain predetermined pressure relationships between said roll means for thread winding by driving said movable carriage portion and said package roll means in a direction toward said drive roll means so that the linear movement of said package roll means away from said drive roll means during build-up of wound material packages will overcome the driving force of said torque motor means and cause said torque motor means to be back driven.

5. A winding apparatus, as set forth in claim 4, in which said housing is a substantially enclosed hollow housing, in which said carriage means and said package roll drive and pressure maintaining means and said drive roll drive means are contained within said enclosed housing, and in which the portions of said housing through which said drive roll means and said package roll means extend include sealing means for completely enclosing said housing; whereby the inside of said housing and the components therein are closed 0E from a hostile environment which may surround said winding apparatus.

6. A winding apparatus, as set forth in claim 4, in which said screw shaft means each comprises a ball screw shaft having ball receiving spiral grooves therein and said nut means comprises a ball nut including an enclosed housing containing a plurality of balls therein for engagement with said spiral grooves of said shaft.

7. A winding apparatus, as set forth in claim 4, in which said drive roll means and said package roll means extend generally horizontally outwardly from said housing means and in which each of said package roll means is disposed on one side of said drive roll means above and below each other and are linearly movable away from said drive roll means along inclined paths of travel which form upwardly extending and downwardly extending acute angles respectively with a horizontal plane through said drive roll means so that each of said package roll means may be alternately or simultaneously driven by said drive rolls for simultaneously or alternately winding material on both of said package roll means.

8. A winding apparatus, as set forth in claim 7, in which each of said package roll means and the associated carriage means include means for compensating for forces introduced as a result of the inclined linear paths of travel of said package roll means so that the predetermined pressure relationship can be maintained.

9. A textile thread winding apparatus characterized by maintaining a desired pressure relationship between drive and package rolls for consistency in the winding operation; said apparatus comprising:

a stationary housing;

a generally cylindrical drive roll mounted for rotation on said housing in a fixed position and extending outwardly therefrom and including drive means for rotating same;

a traverse means mounted on said housing for receiving thread to be wound;

a freely rotatable, linearly movable package roll for carrying a thread package core and extending outwardly from said housing generally parallel with said drive roll to receive the thread from said traverse means for winding on the package core;

a carriage means including a stationary portion mounted on said housing and a movable portion carried by said stationary portion for reciprocating linear movement, said movable carriage portion being secured to and carrying said package roll for reciprocating linear movement therewith; and

means for maintaining a desired predetermined pressure relationship between said drive roll and said package roll and for linearly driving said package roll, said means comprising a variable torque reversible motor means, a screw shaft means connected to and rotated by said torque motor means and a nut means secured to said movable carriage portion and receiving said screw shaft means therethrough for converting rotary movement of said screw shaft means into linear movement of said movable carriage portion and package roll carried thereby;

whereby said variable torque reversible motor means can drive said package roll linearly toward and away from said drive roll for start-up and doffing by driving said movable carriage portion in the desired direction and can hold said package roll and the thread core thereon in frictional peripheral driving engagement with said drive roll and maintain a predetermined pressure relationship between said rolls for thread winding by driving said movable carriage portion and said package roll in a direction toward said drive roll so that the linear movement of said package roll away from said drive roll during build-up of a thread package will overcome the driving force of said torque motor and cause said torque motor to be back driven.

10. A textile thread winding apparatus characterized by maintaining a desired pressure relationship between drive and package rolls for consistency in the winding operation; said apparatus comprising:

a stationary housing;

a generally cylindrical drive roll mounted for rotation on said housing in a fixed position and extending outwardly therefrom and including drive means for rotating same;

a traverse means mounted on said housing for receiving thread to be wound;

a pair of freely rotatable, linearly movable package rolls for carrying thread package cores and extending outwardly from said housing generally parallel with said drive roll to receive the thread from said traverse means for simultaneous or alternative winding on the package cores;

a carriage means operatively associated with each of said package rolls, each of said carriage means including a stationary portion mounted on said housing and a movable portion carried by said stationary portion for reciprocating linear movement, said movable carriage portion being secured to and carrying said respective package roll for reciprocating linear movement therewith; and

means operatively associated with each of said package rolls for maintaining a desired predetermined pressure relationship between said drive roll and said respective package roll and for linearly driving said respective package roll, each of said means comprising a variable torque reversible motor means, a screw shaft means connected to and rotated by said torque motor means and a nut means secured to said respective movable carriage portion and receiving said screw shaft means therethrough for converting rotary movement of said screw shaft means into linear movement of said movable carriage portion and respective package roll carried thereby;

whereby said respective variable torque reversible motor means can drive said package rolls linearly toward and away from said drive roll for start-up and doffing by driving said movable carriage portions in the desired direction and can hold said package rolls and the thread cores thereon in frictional peripheral driving engagement with said drive roll and maintain predetermined pressure relationships between said rolls for thread winding by driving said movable carriage portions and said package rolls in a direction toward said drive roll so that the linear movement of said package rolls away from said drive roll during build-up of thread packages will overcome the driving force of said torque motor means and cause said torque motor means to be back driven.

1 l. A textile thread winding apparatus characterized by maintaining a desired pressure relationship between drive and package rolls for consistency in the winding operation; said apparatus comprising:

a stationary, substantially enclosed housing including sealing means associated therewith for completely enclosing said housing so that the inside of said housing and the components therein are closed off from a hostile environment which may surround said winding apparatus;

a generally cylindrical drive roll mounted for rotation on said housing in a fixed position and extending generally horizontally outwardly therefrom and including drive means operatively connected therewith for rotating same, said drive means being contained within said enclosed housing;

a traverse means mounted on said housing for receiving thread to be wound;

a pair of freely rotatable, linearly movable package rolls for carrying thread package cores and extending generally horizontally outwardly from said housing generally parallel with said drive roll to receive thread from said traverse means for simultaneous or alternative winding on the package cores, said package rolls being disposed on one side of said drive roll above and below each other and being linearly movable away from said drive roll along inclined paths of travel which form upwardly extending and downwardly extending acute angles respectively with a horizontal plane through said drive roll so that each of said package rolls may be alternatively or simultaneously driven by said drive roll for simultaneously or alternatively winding thread on both of said package rolls;

a carriage means contained within said housing and operatively associated with each of said package rolls, each of said carriage means including a stationary portion mounted on said housing and a movable portion carried by said stationary portion for reciprocating linear movement, said movable carriage portion being secured to and carrying said respective package rolls for the aforesaid reciprocating linear movement;

means contained within said housing and operatively associated with each of said package rolls for maintaining a desired predetermined pressure relationship between said drive roll and said respective package roll and for linearly driving said respective package roll, each of said means comprising a variable torque reversible motor means, a ball screw shaft means having ball receiving spiral grooves therein and connected to and rotated by said torque motor means and a ball nut means comprising an enclosed housing containing a plurality of balls therein for engagement with said spiral grooves of said shaft, and being secured to said respective movable carriage portion and receiving said ball screw shaft means therethrough for converting rotary movement of said screw shaft into linear movement of said movable carriage portion and respective package roll carried thereby; and means contained within said housing and associated with each of said respective package rolls and associated carriage means for compensating for forces introduced as a result of the inclined linear paths of travel of said package rolls; whereby said respective variable torque reversible motor means can drive said package rolls linearly toward and away from said drive roll for start-up and doffing by driving said movable carriage portions in the desired direction and can hold said package rolls and the thread cores thereon in frictional peripheral driving engagement with said drive roll and maintain predetermined pressure relationships between said rolls for thread winding by driving said movable carriage portions and said package rolls in a direction toward said drive roll so that the linear movement of said package rolls away from said drive roll during build-up of a thread package will overcome the driving force of said torque motor means and cause said torque motor means to be back driven. 

1. A winding apparatus characterized by maintaining a desired pressure relationship between drive and package rolls for consistency in the winding operation; said apparatus comprising: stationary housing means; drive roll means mounted for rotation on said housing means in a fixed position and extending outwardly therefrom and including drive means for rotating same; freely rotatable, linearly movable package roll means extending outwardly from said housing means generally parallel with said drive roll means to receive material for winding thereon; carriage means including a stationary portion mounted on said housing means and a movable portion carried by said stationary portion for reciprocating linear movement, said movable carriage portion being secured to and carrying said package roll means for reciprocating linear movement therewith; and means for maintaining a desired predetermined pressure relationship between said drive roll means and said package roll means and for linearly driving said package roll means, said means comprising a variable torque reversible motor means, a screw shaft means connected to and rotated by said torque motor means and a nut means secured to said movable carriage portion and receiving said screw shaft means therethrough for converting rotary movement of said screw shaft means into linear movement of said movable carriage portion and package roll means carried thereby; whereby said variable torque reversible motor means can drive said package roll means linearly toward and away from said drive roll means for start-up and doffing by driving said movable carriage portion in the desired direction and can hold said package roll means in frictional peripheral driving engagement with said drive roll means and maintain a predetermined pressure relationship between said roll means for winding by driving said movable carriage portion and said package roll means in a direction toward said drive roll means so that the linear movement of said package roll means away from said drive roll during build-up of a wound material package will overcome the driving force of said torque motor and cause said torque motor to be back driven.
 2. A winding apparatus, as set forth in claim 1, in which said housing means is a substantially enclosed hollow housing, in which said carriage means and said package roll drive and pressure maintaining means and said drive roll drive means are contained within said enclosed housing, and in which the portions of said housing through which said drive roll means and said package roll means extend include sealing means for completely enclosing said housing; whereby the inside of said housing and the components therein are closed off from a hostile environment which may surround said winding apparatus.
 3. A winding apparatus, as set forth in claim 1, in which said screw shaft means comprises a ball screw shaft having ball receiving spiral grooves therein and said nut means comprises a ball nut including an enclosed housing containing a plurality of balls therein for engagement with said spiral grooves of said shaft.
 4. A winding apparatus characterized by maintaining a desired pressure relationship between drive and package rolls for consistency in the winding operation; said apparatus comprising: stationary housing means; drive roll means mounted for rotation on said housing means in a fixed position and extending outwardly therefrom and including drive means for rotating same; a pair of freely rotatable, linearly movable package roll means extending outwardly from said housing generally parallel with said drive roll means to receive material for simultaneous or alternative winding thereon; carriage means operatively associated with each of said package roll means, each of said carriAge means including a stationary portion mounted on said housing means and a movable portion carried by said stationary portion for reciprocating linear movement, said movable carriage portion being secured to and carrying said respective package roll means for reciprocating linear movement therewith; and means operatively associated with each of said package roll means for maintaining a desired predetermined pressure relationship between said drive roll means and said respective package roll means and for linearly driving said respective package roll means, each of said means comprising a variable torque reversible motor means, a screw shaft means connected to and rotated by said torque motor means and a nut means secured to said respective movable carriage portion and receiving said screw shaft means therethrough for converting rotary movement of said screw shaft means into linear movement of said movable carriage portion and respective package roll means carried thereby; whereby said respective variable torque reversible motor means can drive said respective package roll means linearly toward and away from said drive roll means for start-up and doffing by driving said movable carriage portion in the desired direction and can hold said package roll means in frictional peripheral driving engagement with said drive roll means and maintain predetermined pressure relationships between said roll means for thread winding by driving said movable carriage portion and said package roll means in a direction toward said drive roll means so that the linear movement of said package roll means away from said drive roll means during build-up of wound material packages will overcome the driving force of said torque motor means and cause said torque motor means to be back driven.
 5. A winding apparatus, as set forth in claim 4, in which said housing is a substantially enclosed hollow housing, in which said carriage means and said package roll drive and pressure maintaining means and said drive roll drive means are contained within said enclosed housing, and in which the portions of said housing through which said drive roll means and said package roll means extend include sealing means for completely enclosing said housing; whereby the inside of said housing and the components therein are closed off from a hostile environment which may surround said winding apparatus.
 6. A winding apparatus, as set forth in claim 4, in which said screw shaft means each comprises a ball screw shaft having ball receiving spiral grooves therein and said nut means comprises a ball nut including an enclosed housing containing a plurality of balls therein for engagement with said spiral grooves of said shaft.
 7. A winding apparatus, as set forth in claim 4, in which said drive roll means and said package roll means extend generally horizontally outwardly from said housing means and in which each of said package roll means is disposed on one side of said drive roll means above and below each other and are linearly movable away from said drive roll means along inclined paths of travel which form upwardly extending and downwardly extending acute angles respectively with a horizontal plane through said drive roll means so that each of said package roll means may be alternately or simultaneously driven by said drive rolls for simultaneously or alternately winding material on both of said package roll means.
 8. A winding apparatus, as set forth in claim 7, in which each of said package roll means and the associated carriage means include means for compensating for forces introduced as a result of the inclined linear paths of travel of said package roll means so that the predetermined pressure relationship can be maintained.
 9. A textile thread winding apparatus characterized by maintaining a desired pressure relationship between drive and package rolls for consistency in the winding operation; said apparatus comprising: a stationary housing; a generally cylindrical drive roll Mounted for rotation on said housing in a fixed position and extending outwardly therefrom and including drive means for rotating same; a traverse means mounted on said housing for receiving thread to be wound; a freely rotatable, linearly movable package roll for carrying a thread package core and extending outwardly from said housing generally parallel with said drive roll to receive the thread from said traverse means for winding on the package core; a carriage means including a stationary portion mounted on said housing and a movable portion carried by said stationary portion for reciprocating linear movement, said movable carriage portion being secured to and carrying said package roll for reciprocating linear movement therewith; and means for maintaining a desired predetermined pressure relationship between said drive roll and said package roll and for linearly driving said package roll, said means comprising a variable torque reversible motor means, a screw shaft means connected to and rotated by said torque motor means and a nut means secured to said movable carriage portion and receiving said screw shaft means therethrough for converting rotary movement of said screw shaft means into linear movement of said movable carriage portion and package roll carried thereby; whereby said variable torque reversible motor means can drive said package roll linearly toward and away from said drive roll for start-up and doffing by driving said movable carriage portion in the desired direction and can hold said package roll and the thread core thereon in frictional peripheral driving engagement with said drive roll and maintain a predetermined pressure relationship between said rolls for thread winding by driving said movable carriage portion and said package roll in a direction toward said drive roll so that the linear movement of said package roll away from said drive roll during build-up of a thread package will overcome the driving force of said torque motor and cause said torque motor to be back driven.
 10. A textile thread winding apparatus characterized by maintaining a desired pressure relationship between drive and package rolls for consistency in the winding operation; said apparatus comprising: a stationary housing; a generally cylindrical drive roll mounted for rotation on said housing in a fixed position and extending outwardly therefrom and including drive means for rotating same; a traverse means mounted on said housing for receiving thread to be wound; a pair of freely rotatable, linearly movable package rolls for carrying thread package cores and extending outwardly from said housing generally parallel with said drive roll to receive the thread from said traverse means for simultaneous or alternative winding on the package cores; a carriage means operatively associated with each of said package rolls, each of said carriage means including a stationary portion mounted on said housing and a movable portion carried by said stationary portion for reciprocating linear movement, said movable carriage portion being secured to and carrying said respective package roll for reciprocating linear movement therewith; and means operatively associated with each of said package rolls for maintaining a desired predetermined pressure relationship between said drive roll and said respective package roll and for linearly driving said respective package roll, each of said means comprising a variable torque reversible motor means, a screw shaft means connected to and rotated by said torque motor means and a nut means secured to said respective movable carriage portion and receiving said screw shaft means therethrough for converting rotary movement of said screw shaft means into linear movement of said movable carriage portion and respective package roll carried thereby; whereby said respective variable torque reversible motor means can drive said package rolls linearly toward and away from said drive roll for start-up and doFfing by driving said movable carriage portions in the desired direction and can hold said package rolls and the thread cores thereon in frictional peripheral driving engagement with said drive roll and maintain predetermined pressure relationships between said rolls for thread winding by driving said movable carriage portions and said package rolls in a direction toward said drive roll so that the linear movement of said package rolls away from said drive roll during build-up of thread packages will overcome the driving force of said torque motor means and cause said torque motor means to be back driven.
 11. A textile thread winding apparatus characterized by maintaining a desired pressure relationship between drive and package rolls for consistency in the winding operation; said apparatus comprising: a stationary, substantially enclosed housing including sealing means associated therewith for completely enclosing said housing so that the inside of said housing and the components therein are closed off from a hostile environment which may surround said winding apparatus; a generally cylindrical drive roll mounted for rotation on said housing in a fixed position and extending generally horizontally outwardly therefrom and including drive means operatively connected therewith for rotating same, said drive means being contained within said enclosed housing; a traverse means mounted on said housing for receiving thread to be wound; a pair of freely rotatable, linearly movable package rolls for carrying thread package cores and extending generally horizontally outwardly from said housing generally parallel with said drive roll to receive thread from said traverse means for simultaneous or alternative winding on the package cores, said package rolls being disposed on one side of said drive roll above and below each other and being linearly movable away from said drive roll along inclined paths of travel which form upwardly extending and downwardly extending acute angles respectively with a horizontal plane through said drive roll so that each of said package rolls may be alternatively or simultaneously driven by said drive roll for simultaneously or alternatively winding thread on both of said package rolls; a carriage means contained within said housing and operatively associated with each of said package rolls, each of said carriage means including a stationary portion mounted on said housing and a movable portion carried by said stationary portion for reciprocating linear movement, said movable carriage portion being secured to and carrying said respective package rolls for the aforesaid reciprocating linear movement; means contained within said housing and operatively associated with each of said package rolls for maintaining a desired predetermined pressure relationship between said drive roll and said respective package roll and for linearly driving said respective package roll, each of said means comprising a variable torque reversible motor means, a ball screw shaft means having ball receiving spiral grooves therein and connected to and rotated by said torque motor means and a ball nut means comprising an enclosed housing containing a plurality of balls therein for engagement with said spiral grooves of said shaft, and being secured to said respective movable carriage portion and receiving said ball screw shaft means therethrough for converting rotary movement of said screw shaft into linear movement of said movable carriage portion and respective package roll carried thereby; and means contained within said housing and associated with each of said respective package rolls and associated carriage means for compensating for forces introduced as a result of the inclined linear paths of travel of said package rolls; whereby said respective variable torque reversible motor means can drive said package rolls linearly toward and away from said drive roll for start-up and doffing by driving said movable carriage portions in the desired Direction and can hold said package rolls and the thread cores thereon in frictional peripheral driving engagement with said drive roll and maintain predetermined pressure relationships between said rolls for thread winding by driving said movable carriage portions and said package rolls in a direction toward said drive roll so that the linear movement of said package rolls away from said drive roll during build-up of a thread package will overcome the driving force of said torque motor means and cause said torque motor means to be back driven. 